The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) released on Wednesday a notice on the management of lists of persons or entities receiving penalties due to losing credit, with the aim of strengthening credit regulation in the business world and accelerate the pace of credit-based mechanisms.

According to the notice posted on the ministry's website, evidence that can be invoked when defining the list includes administrative penalties or inspections of business operations, judicial decisions, and laws and rules.

The list is divided into two categories - those who are to receive joint penalties and those who will be given special attention. The first group will stay on the list for no more than three years; in the case of the latter, for no more than two years.

Entities on the penalty list that actively correct their bad behavior and erase their bad influence can apply for credit recovery, said MOFCOM.

The regulation takes effect on Wednesday.

"It is a trend that joint efforts by different departments are contributing to a comprehensive social credit system in China," said Zhu Wei, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

China has sought in recent years to build a credit-based framework by applying the inter-agency approach in penalizing people or organizations that acted in bad faith.

The Cyberspace Administration of China, which regulates the internet sector, published a draft document last week to expand the social credit blacklists to include online platforms and users who spread information that violates social morality and harms the public interest.

"With information sharing becoming mature in China and people's use of credit rising, China is turning into a credit-based society," Zhu told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The country has built up necessary laws in individual data protection, and the standards are quite strict if compared with the international community, which means it's time to pick up the pace, said Zhu.

China is expected to launch a law on personal information protection by the end of this year, according to Zhu.


Newspaper headline: Credit list regulations define evidence